Curtain hanging assembly

ABSTRACT

A curtain assembly comprising a sheet of material and a hanging assembly. The sheet may comprise an upper edge portion extending from an upper edge and having a plurality of passages, each passage defined by a perimeter, and a curtain cut extending from the perimeter to the upper edge. The hanging assembly may comprise a pair of joinable hanger elements, each comprising a web of material between an inner perimeter and an outer perimeter, the webs having opposing surfaces for mutual engagement, each hanger element having two free end surfaces created by a cut through its web from inner to outer perimeter. The sheet is placed between web opposing surfaces of the pair, with the free edge surfaces of a first hanger element aligned with the curtain cut and the other free edge surfaces of a second hanger element offset from the first free edge surfaces by an angle.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates generally to an assembly for hanging a curtain from a curtain rod. More specifically, the invention relates to an assembly integral to a curtain and configured to allow the curtain to be hung from a curtain rod. More specifically still, the invention relates to a curtain with an integral hanging assembly to allow a curtain to be hung from a curtain rod without moving the curtain rod.

2. Background Information

Curtains are known to be used to cover building openings, such as doors and windows, foe aesthetic reasons as well as to provide shielding or privacy within a building or other structure, such as in curtains adapted to separate a bathing area from the remaining room or living space. Typical privacy curtains in a structure are hung or suspended from an elongate support rod, permanently or temporarily fixed to a portion of the structure. A support rod, or curtain rod, in a typical installation may be an elongate cylindrical or tubular element adapted to span the width of an opening in a structure and remain fixed to a portion of the structure. Fixing the support rod to the structure may require brackets, fasteners, adhesive, or other fastening devices to fix the rod to the structure.

Curtains are typically fabricated from flexible, sheet-like material, such as fabric or other woven materials, non-woven materials, or polymeric materials formed into substantially flexible sheets, by known methods. For specific applications, specific materials may be required. In other application, typical materials may require specific treatment to make the material suitable for the intended use. For example, in applications using a curtain to contain water or water spray, the material for the curtain may be required to be waterproof, or a non-waterproof material may be used if it receives a treatment, coating, additional layer, etc., to render the normally non-waterproof material waterproof.

The curtains can be drawn partially or completely across the width of the opening to be covered when such coverage is desired. When not needed or desired, the curtain may be drawn to one side or the other of the opening, providing open access through the opening.

Typical curtains are hung from a support rod using curtain hooks adapted for attachment to a top edge portion of the curtain and also adapted for attachment to the support rod. Known curtain hooks have been shaped to engage an edge portion of a curtain and then engage a curtain rod. Alternately, known curtain hooks may engage the curtain rod first, either removably or permanently, and then engage the edge portion of the curtain. Typical shapes include C- or S-shaped curtain hooks, which can be engaged with the curtain and curtain rod. These shaped hooks provide easy installation and removal of the curtain from the rod, but also allow for inadvertent detachment of the curtain from the rod. Because the curtain hooks are individual pieces, manual dexterity and great care to install, and they are frequently lost of misplaced.

O-shaped hooks, with at least one break in the perimeter, can be similarly attached to the curtain edge portion or the support rod. The ends of the ends formed by the break may be adapted to be rejoined. If the ends formed by the break in the perimeter are not rejoined, the O-shaped hooks have characteristics similar to the C-shaped hooks. Rejoining the ends can be an onerous task.

Other methods for hanging a curtain from a curtain rod include providing the curtain with fixed openings, holes, or receptacles at or near the top edge portion of the curtain. the openings or passages are an integral part of the curtain. For example, closed loops of material may be attached to the top edge portion of a curtain, with the loops spaced apart and arranged such that the open interior spaces of the loops are coaxial and aligned with the width of the curtain to span the opening to be covered. Some curtains include passages or holes located in the top edge portion of the curtain, spaced below the top edge. Providing these passages give the curtain a more secure attachment to the curtain rod, as the likelihood of the rod and the curtain becoming separated is reduced, while still allowing the curtain to be easily drawn across the opening or to one side of the opening.

In order to hang curtains with passages fixed thereto, the support rod must be removed from the structure and inserted through the openings provided. With the curtains including fixed passages, the top edge of the curtain may be arranged in accordioned or pleated such that the open interior of the passages are aligned. After the curtain rod is inserted appropriately through the openings, the rod is the re-installed in the correct location across the opening to be covered. Removing the curtain from the rod requires the same steps in reverse order.

SUMMARY

The known curtains fail to provide a secure attachment for the curtain to the rod that is easily to achieve and equally easy to detached from the rod.

Therefore, it would be an advancement to the state of the art to provide a curtain including an attachment that securely fixes the curtain to a support rod until purposefully removed, and allows the curtain to be easily drawn.

Accordingly, the present invention relates to an improved curtain hanging assembly. The assembly will be discussed largely in terms of a shower curtain assembly with the understanding that the same assembly can be used in conjunction with other types of curtains.

One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a curtain including passages along a top edge portion of the curtain, spaced away from the edge of the curtain, and a curtain hanger formed by a pair of joinable elements. Each of the joinable elements has an interior passage of a size and shape similar to the passage in the curtain and when joined, the passages in the two elements are substantially coaxial and coextensive. Between the outer boundaries of the passage and the outer perimeter of the element is a web or band of material.

According to embodiments of the invention, each element of the pair includes one cut through the web of material, resulting in two free ends of similar cross section with portions of each free end parallel with portions of the opposing free end. The path of the cut may be linear or non-linear, or partially linear and partially nonlinear.

According to some embodiments, the perimeter interior passage may be defined by a closed curve. In such embodiments, the cut through the web of material may begin at the intersection of a chord of the perimeter of the interior passage and continue through the web of material along the plane of the chord or the cut may diverge from the plane of the chord through part, or all, of the web of material.

In some embodiments, the closed curve defining the interior passage may be circular. In some embodiments having a circular interior passage, the chord establishing the starting point of the cut may be a radius. As in other embodiments, the cut may or may not lie along the plane of the chord.

According to embodiments of the invention, each the joinable elements in a pair has opposing surfaces adapted for engagement with each other. Such adaptation could include mutually engaging structures configured to join the elements together with at least a portion of the curtain edge portion placed between the opposing surfaces. The mutually engaging structures may permanently engage the elements or may removably engage the elements. The engaging structures establish rotational and translational position of one element with respect to the other.

According to embodiments of the invention, when joined, the elements are rotationally positioned such that the cut in the first element of a pair is rotationally offset from the cut in the second element of the pair by less than 15°. Preferably, the offset is between 5° and 10°, and preferably approximately 8°.

According to embodiments of the invention, each the curtain includes a cut extending from a point along the perimeter of the passage provided in the top edge portion to the top edge of the curtain. In some embodiments, the cut is a vertical cut extending from the point on the perimeter of the passage to the top edge of the curtain.

In an assembly according to embodiments of the invention, a pair of joinable elements are placed, one on either side of a curtain, such that opposed surfaces face the curtain and such that the interior passage of each element is arranged in a coaxial manner and the passages are aligned with the passage in the top edge portion of the curtain. One element of the pair is arranged such that the free ends formed by the cut through the web of material is aligned with the cut in the curtain extending from the passage in the curtain to the top edge of the curtain. The other element of the pair is positioned such that the cut in that element is rotated from the cut in the curtain less than 15° in either direction, that is, the second element may be rotated in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Once aligned, the opposing surfaces are urged together, with a portion of the top edge portion therebetween, such that the surfaces engage and are fixed in rotational and translational position with respect to each other and the curtain.

DESCRIPTION

It is noted that in this disclosure and particularly in the claims and/or paragraphs, terms such as “comprises,” “comprised,” “comprising,” and the like can have the meaning attributed to it in U.S. patent law; that is, they can mean “includes,” “included,” “including,” “including, but not limited to” and the like, and allow for elements not explicitly recited. Terms such as “consisting essentially of” and “consists essentially of” have the meaning ascribed to them in U.S. patent law; that is, they allow for elements not explicitly recited, but exclude elements that are found in the prior art or that affect a basic or novel characteristic of the invention. These and other embodiments are disclosed or are apparent from and encompassed by, the following description.

As used herein, the term “curtain” is understood to mean a generally sheet-like structure having a top edge, a top edge portion extending downward from the top edge, and opposing side edges extending downward from the top edge. The distance between the side edges generally establishing the width of the curtain.

As used herein, “top edge” is understood to mean the uppermost part of the curtain when hung in a conventional manner for curtains. “Top” is intended to have its plain meaning, including the highest or uppermost part or location. Likewise, “vertical” as used herein has the general meaning of the word, that is, perpendicular to the horizon or plumb.

FIG. 1 illustrates a known curtain assembly including a curtain 10, a support rod or curtain rod 12 which passes through passages 14 in the top edge portion 16 of the curtain. The apertures 14 are spaced a distance from the top edge of the curtain 18 in a direction away from the top edge. Accordingly, in order to hang the curtain 10 from the rod 12, the rod must be inserted through the apertures 14 and at least the top edge portion of the curtain arranged in an accordioned or corrugated fashion.

FIG. 2 illustrates a curtain according to an embodiment of the present invention. The curtain 10 includes 3 passages 14 in the top edge portion 16. Three generally circular passages are shown for ease of illustration only, recognizing that more than three passages may be used and shapes other than circular may also be used with similar results. Also included are cuts 20 extending through the thickness T of the curtain, starting from the top of the passages 14 and extending to the top edge of the curtain 18.

FIG. 3 illustrates a curtain hanger 30 comprising a pair of joinable elements 32 and 34. Each of the elements 32,34 include a web of material 36, 38 with one side of the web comprising opposing surfaces 32′ and 34′ (34′ not shown) adapted for engagement. Here the adaptation for engagement is shown as posts 40 arranged on opposing surface 32′and receptacles 42 arranged as through holes through the web of material 38. As illustrated, the posts 40 and receptacles 42 may engage in a friction fit arrangement, a snap fit arrangement, or may be thermally bonded or chemically bonded once engaged.

The engagement is shown as posts and receptacles for ease of illustration only. Any means of engagement can be used including, as non limiting examples, threaded fasting elements, barbed fittings with receptacles, snap fit elements, and pin and slot fasteners. Alternately, thermal bonding or chemical binding may be appropriate in some circumstances with other engagement elements as would be apparent to one of skill in the art.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, each element 32, 34 comprises a cut 44, 46 through the web 36, 38, respectively. The cut 44 forms free end surface pair 44′, 44″ and cut 46 forms free end surface pair 46′, 46″. Portions of each free end surfaces pair are parallel with each other. Cuts 44 and 46 are shown as straight radial cuts for ease of illustration only. Non-limiting examples of alternate cut configurations are shown in FIGS. 4A-4C. As shown, the cuts may begin at the intersection of any chord 48 of the element and need not follow the plane of the chord. As shown in FIG. 4A, the cut 44 may comprise one linear segment, or comprise more than one linear segment as in FIG. 4B, or the cut 44 may comprise no linear segments as in FIG. 4C.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the joinable elements 32, 34 are shown as annular elements with circular interior passages 50. This is for ease of illustration only. The outer shape may comprise any shape or configuration. A restriction on the interior passage 50 is that it should be similarly sized and shaped as the passages 14 in the curtain.

FIG. 5 illustrates two curtain hangers 30, comprising pairs of joinable elements 32, 34, installed on a curtain in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. For ease of illustration, the engagement elements are not show. As would be apparent from the illustration of FIG. 3, the engagement elements 40 in element 32 would necessarily penetrate through a portion of the curtain 10, surrounding the passage 14, and engage element 34 as discussed above. Embodiments of the invention include engagement portals 50 formed in the region surrounding passage 14 at predetermined locations as shown in the rightmost passage 14 illustrated in FIG. 2. Alternately, the engagement elements 40 could be configured to pierce the curtain 10 as the elements 32, 34 are urged together.

As the engagement elements 40 pass through the curtain 10, the rotational position of the elements with regard to the curtain 10 becomes constrained. As the engagement element 40 becomes engaged with cooperating elements on opposing surface 34′, as a non-limiting example receptacles 42, the translational relationship between the hanger 30 and the curtain 10 also becomes constrained.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, free end surfaces 44′ and 44″ are aligned with cut 20 in curtain 10 and free end surfaces 46′ and 46″ are offset from the cut surface (and consequently free end surfaces 44′ and 44″) by an angle A. Embodiments of this invention disclose that angle A is less than 15°. In some embodiments, the angle is in the range of 5° to 10°, and in some embodiments the angle is approximately 8°.

The offset of free end surface 46′ (and 46″) can be in either direction with respect to free end surface 44′ (and 44″), that is in the clockwise or counterclockwise direction. Similarly, joinable element 32, 34 can be applied on either surface 52 or 54 of the curtain and similar results will be obtained. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A curtain assembly comprising: a sheet of material comprising: an upper edge; an upper edge portion extending from the upper edge; a plurality of passages through the sheet of material in the upper edge portion, the passage defined by a perimeter; a curtain cut extending from the perimeter to the upper edge; and a hanging assembly comprising: a pair of joinable hanger elements, each comprising an outer perimeter and an interior passage defined by an inner perimeter, and a web of material between the inner perimeter and the outer perimeter, each web having opposing surfaces adapted for mutual engagement; a cut through the web from the inner perimeter to the outer perimeter creating two free end surfaces for each hanger element; wherein the sheet of material is placed between the web opposing surfaces of a pair of joinable hanger elements such that a passage in the upper edge portion and the interior passages of the hanger elements are aligned; the hanger elements are positioned such that the free edge surfaces of a first hanger element are aligned with the curtain cut and the other free edge surfaces of a second hanger element are offset from the first free edge surfaces by an angle; and the web opposing surfaces are urged together into engagement.
 2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of passages are circular and the interior passages are circular.
 3. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the curtain cut comprises a linear segment.
 4. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the curtain cut comprises more than one linear segment.
 5. The assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein the curtain cut comprises at least on non-linear segment. 